Unfortunately, the massive brown wolf and Autumn Guard seem equally unimpressed. Princess Niamh and her knights stare at me in shock.
“I will not allow you to harm him,” I growl.
“You are a monster,” she hisses, drawing her sword. “What have you done with my son?”
A sickle-shaped claw slices into my side. The brown wolf opens its jaws, teeth gnashing at my soft underbelly.
“Trickery of the Below!” Niamh’s voice careens through the air. “Take it down! Fire!”
Arrows pierce my flesh. It’s too late. She already thought Keldarion was a traitor, now she believes we all are.
Distantly, I see Ezryn abandon the portal, but there’s a huge cluster of goblins between us. And the bastards, seeing I’m mortal, push aside their fear and attack.
Soldiers, goblins, and a beast—their collective force is too overwhelming for me to face. But I have no choice but to try. Farron’s safety is vital, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him from harm. With a deep breath, I steel my resolve and charge the goblins, teeth and claws bared. A rusty sword whistles toward me, but I deftly dodge and sink my fangs into the goblin’s neck. The taste of its foul blood fills my mouth, fueling my determination. Yet, more goblins swarm around me, and every time I fend them off, the brown wolf lunges at my legs or the archers rain down another barrage of arrows.
The full moon loosens my hold on the beast. I’m so hurt, my body ripples, shifting back into a fae.
Naked and bloody, I land on my knees. The beast seizes the opportunity and claws my back.
It’s so deep, I can feel my blood seeping out of the wound like a waterfall.
“He’s defenseless,” the archers cry. “Fire!”
The pain of the first arrow in my chest is the worst, piercing deep, hard enough my head flings back. But my body must go numb because I barely feel the next two arrows that hit me, one in my gut, one in the opposite shoulder.
“This fate was yours to create, High Prince of Summer.” Niamh’s voice is cold as stone. “Whatever bargain you’ve made with the Below to gain such awful power shall rot away with you in death. I only hope your sister will be more responsible with the Blessing.”
I can’t stay up anymore, so I fall to the hard earth, landing in something moist. There’s enough vision left for me to realize what it is. A shaky laugh escapes my throat. I’ve always known I’d die in my own blood, but I thought it’d be on the sands of the arena. Never thought it’d be here in the Autumn Realm beside the man I love.
Now that’s a funny thought.
The wolf—Farron—stalks closer to me, and even if he’s the one who’s going to kill me, I’m glad he’s here. At the end of it all.
64
Rosalina
A terrible cry escapes my throat as I watch Dayton fall. I collapse on the balcony, clutching the railing. My body trembles like the arrows pierce my own chest. “Dayton!”
“Lady Rosalina!” Astrid runs up to my side. “You shouldn’t be out here.”
Thankfully, she and Marigold are safe, and Papa is secure in the keep.
“I can’t just watch this,” I say, tears streaming down my face. Below, Coppershire is burning, Farron is trapped inside his beast, Ezryn’s surrounded by a sea of goblins, and Dayton’s fallen. I don’t know if he’ll ever get up…
And inside, safe after throwing up in a bucket, is the High Prince of Winter.
Something seethes within me, and I crawl toward him on shaking arms. Traveling through the briars has left my body so weak.
“Oh, dearie,” Marigold says, and she and Astrid hoist me up under my arms.
“Take me to my mate,” I snarl.
They exchange a worried glance and carry me into the room.
Kel’s on the floor, knees to his chest, a glass of water and an empty bucket beside him. At least the vomiting has stopped.
Carefully, Marigold and Astrid lower me to the ground, then back away.
Keldarion turns to me, eyes glassy and rimmed with red, his expression one of twisted torment.
“I shouldn’t have let him make that bargain,” he says. “I knew better. I know better.”
His large hands are wrapped over his forearms. Red scratch lines score the bargain tattoo on his wrist, as if he tried to peel off his very skin.
The utter agony erupting from his soul ebbs into mine. I can hardly bear it. “This is my fault, too.” I shake my head. “I thought I could get through to him. That maybe somewhere deep down, there was goodness in Caspian.”
But I was wrong about him. I should have listened to Kel. There is no sympathy left in me for the Prince of Thorns.
“Do not degrade yourself because he took advantage of your kind heart,” Keldarion mumbles. “I should have shielded you from his darkness.”
I glance at the window. “They’re out there, Kel. Farron, Dayton, and Ez.” Tears pool down my cheeks. “We need to help them.”
“You drained yourself freeing us from the Below.” Keldarion sighs. “The revelry poisoned me. There is nothing I am capable of. I corrupt whatever I touch.”
“Start by standing.” I grip his shirt, trying to heave him up, but my arms are so weak and he’s so heavy.
“After what I’ve done? I’ve failed my realm, failed Farron. I’ve failed you. How can you bear to look at me?”
“I’m not looking at you.” I clutch his face. “I see you.”
He tries to pull away, but I hold him firm. “No, listen. You pretend to hide in Castletree because you don’t care. But that’s not true. All you do is care. For the realm, for the princes, for me.”
“Do not paint me as a hero.”
“It is the truth of who you are. You came for me on the ice, then sent me away, even resisting our bond, to keep me safe. You’ve distanced yourself from your realm since you were cursed. Was it shame? Or were you afraid Caspian would turn his thorns upon Winter if you spent too much time there? You came to defend Autumn against a frost despite the accusations. And you let Farron make his own decisions, setting aside your own desires.”
“All that has only led us here,” he says.
“Where we can still make this right. They’re hurt and lost and frightened. Can’t you feel them? They need us.”
“My Rose,” he rasps, “if you only knew how selfish my wretched heart truly is.”
“Wretched or not, I know what your heart does best.” I drop my forehead to his in surrender. “Shelter those you care about.”
I kiss him gently, feeling my shattered heart blazing to life against his touch. His mouth opens to mine in a longing sigh. The fire grows. The bond between us stirs in pleasure and might. “Kel, my mate, you are the Protector of the Realms,” I say. “So protect them.”
65
Ezryn
Splintering pain radiates through my shoulder as I collide with the massive brown wolf. Farron’s thrown off balance, and he sails through the air, landing in a cadre of assailing goblins. That’ll keep you busy.
My heart thuds in my throat as I scamper around, looking for Dayton’s body amongst the chaos. I find him bloody and gasping for breath. If I had gotten here a second later…
Farron would have ripped him apart.
Goblins ascend upon him and with a growl, I grab one and twist its neck until it snaps. Snap. Snap. Snap. Then I sink to my knees, blood and mud coating my armor. “I’m here, Day.”
His eyes look unseeing into the dark sky. Rattling breaths wheeze out of his throat, becoming shallower and faster, like the fluttering of a dying bird’s wings fighting to stay adrift. Distantly, I hear the clash of swords and screams of the wounded—goblin and fae alike. An arrow rings off my armor, but I ignore it, not even bothering to check if it is the crooked shaft and crude fletching of a goblin’s or the fine craftsmanship of the fae.
“I’m here,” I say again. Stars Above, the blood. It sputters out of his mouth with each breath. I need to work fast, but there’s so much going on. I barely have time to bring my hands to his chest before having to block a goblin’s sword with my gauntlet.